Can someone tell me the thinking behind cutting away the far edge of the embouchure hole? Just curious. I have a Burns Bb and an Abell hj that both have this cut away. Thanks,
Arbo
i have two HJ by P.Noy that have it and they work great…also J.Gallagher sent me pictures (i could send you), he is really happy with the way it works… and his way of doing the cut is a bit different and allows him to make the cut on an oval embouchure…it’s along the line of how CBs cut away works, where it’s not a straight line which only works with the “modern” cut.
i think it’s something that may help thicker head joints.
I am no authority on this, that’s for sure, and thus far I haven’t made an attempt to do this to any of my pvc flutes. I can make an observation, however. The curvature at the embouchure hole of most wooden flutes is circular, whereas the curvature of the lip plate of a silver concert flute is parabolic, with the curve dropping sharply just past the embouchure hole, allowing for a better tone than if the lip plate were circular. Since most wooden Irish flutes do not have a lip plate, to achieve a similar effect as the parabolic concert lip plate, some of the wood just past the embouchure hole is removed to sharpen the front embouchure edge.
i don’t know anything about this, but i’m also curious. are you referring to the little divot that CB puts on the far side of the embouchure cut?
i read it was to increase volume?
cheers,
eric
Yes, yes, a thousand times, Yes.
Doug, that’s my understanding too. I’ve played an M&E with a cutaway and I own a Healy with a cutaway too. It is supposed to make it easier to find the edge. And perhaps it helps beginners generate a tone with a less developed focus.
I have made a few of my own PVC flutes with cutaways trying to determine if it is a useful feature. I think it is hard to evaluate if you have been playing long enough to get a strong tone so I have no useful conclusion to add to the conversation. I felt that if you have a well cut embouchure to begin with it shouldn’t matter much. I’d love to hear how other flute makers think on this one.
Feadoggie
I believe that at least part of the thinking is to carve away the surface past the working edge of the embouchure in such a way as to reduce turbulence in the “exhaust” airstream and improve its flow, making the fluctuations of the stream at the edge (which actually create the tone) cleaner and requiring of less energy to sustain… so a clearer, better focussed tone should be possible with more ease and less effort - kinda a bit like a spoiler on a car’s rear-end to reduce drag… It isn’t really about “sharpening” the working edge, although of course a cut-away will make the angle between chimney and outer surface more acute, as will undercutting.
From Casey Burns’ web site:
A number of people have asked about the 3 outer “cuts” seen on pictures of my low flutes. What are these for? What do these do? Are these used on my flutes in D? The answer to the last question is no. I use these cuts on my low flutes to increase the “edge” or buzz to the tone. By design these low flutes are comparatively narrower in bore than my D flutes. Increasing the bore is not practical, thus other features are used to increase the volume and quickness.
On my D flutes, this additional edge is simply not needed. Instead, it eliminates the ability to play without the edge or buzzy tone! With these cuts on the D flutes, it is impossible to play quietly. I prefer to send my D flutes out into the world with the ability to play at several speeds, not just one. On the other hand, the low flutes need all the help they can get!
I use these cuts on my low flutes to increase the “edge” or buzz to the tone.
Incidentally this also increases the angle of the blowing edge, as discussed in this thread (but probably only a little).
I have a plastic fife here which does just the opposite – it adds material to the outer edge. And it plays really swell, too. So that got me thinking: it might be that smaller flutes need some extra material to get the ideal angle, and bigger flutes need some material off.
(Sounds almost logical, too.)
Scary thought, ain’t it? 